The Las Vegas Raiders can add a lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13 to the list of embarrassing defeats they've suffered during the 2025 NFL season. The Raiders actually competed in the first half, but as always, the wheels fell off the wagon and they lost by more than two scores.
It has been an incredibly frustrating campaign for the Silver and Black. The mighty Kansas City Chiefs seem to have finally fallen, but they are still nowhere near competing for an AFC West title, thanks to their own incompetence and the emergence of the Chargers and the Denver Broncos.
With the Raiders trailing 24-14 with about four minutes left in the game, Justin Herbert converted on a key third down, essentially icing the game. He went out of his way to jaw at Maxx Crosby after the play, and Crosby took exception to that, shoving Herbert, apparently hard enough to flatten him.
Justin Herbert clears the air on mini-skirmish with Maxx Crosby
One of the Chargers' assistant coaches then came onto the field and had some words for Crosby, and Raiders defensive backs Eric Stokes and Isaiah Pola-Mao ended up near the Los Angeles sideline as they verbally defended their star defensive end.
Although outside of the shove, no physical contact was made, tempers did flare quite a bit. Crosby was whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and that was that. Herbert spoke about the incident during his postgame press conference, and he made his feelings known about Crosby.
"Yeah, I think it was just an emotional game," Herbert said. "I was excited for the third down, and he'd been getting after us all day, and so I think it's just one of those plays where emotions got the best of us. I've got a ton of respect for him as a player. ... I could have kept my cool a little bit better, too."
Crosby is obviously one of the most fiery players in the league, and he wears his heart on his sleeve when he plays. That, compounded with him being in the midst of his sixth brutal losing season in the last seven years, is sure to make him run hot during yet another blowout.
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But it's good that Herbert acknowledged his part in it, as he clearly egged Crosby on. Chargers safety Derwin James was also asked about the skirmish after the game, and while he took exception to Crosby's shove, he also spoke about his relationship with the Raiders star.
"Oh, I was mad about that. I was hot about that," James said. "I was actually standing on the sideline, but I got a good relationship with Maxx. I know he not that type of player. Hopefully, he ain't try to do it on purpose. At the end of the day, that's my quarterback, we gon make sure he good, always.”
At the end of the day, this was a mild incident between two division rivals, nowhere near some other brawls that have occurred around the NFL this year. Because big players like Crosby and Herbert were involved, some will try to make it a bigger deal than it is. But they've already moved past it.